Thought in Development

Slang shouldn’t be banned … it should be celebrated, innit

Dr Rob Drummond, Senior Lecturer in Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University, has recently published an article in The Conversation.

In the piece, he explores the increasing policing of young people’s language, looking specifically at a case at a school in Essex in which teachers actually banned particular slang words used in the television series, The Only Way is Essex.

The school argued that by encouraging use of ‘proper English’ they would increase the children’s job prospects: using phrases such as “well jel” would not be appropriate in an interview setting.

However, will stemming the children’s use of language prohibit expression of identity and creativity?